At the tail end of Phase 1, I wanted to stop reading hardcore programming books and start reading something light and hopefully, non-essential. Last Tang Standing by Lauren Ho met all the pre-requisites of a trashy read and can possibly belong to the same cinematic universe as Crazy Rich Asians and Sarong Party Girls. While the read was light-hearted, hidden within the story is probably one of the most gritty and brutal descriptions of M&A legal practice in Singapore.
a) Probably the most accurate depiction of life in a Singapore law firm
I heartily recommend this book to all incoming JD and LLB students as well as legal associates, not as a work of fiction but as a vivid preview of what their futures lives are going to be. In fact, it should be made compulsory reading as part of the law school syllabus. It shows the jostling between senior associates for partnership and how some of them can be made scapegoats when a deal fails.
Generally, the tone of the book is a light one, but it exposes the meaninglessly of seeking promotions within a law firm setting with plenty of cynical advice not taught in a formal legal program such as "Keep your PAs close, keep your enemies' PAs on retainer."
b) Central theme of the story: How money destroys agency
The subtle role played by money permeates the entire story. To be included in a will, family members must play their cards right - spinsters have to endure humiliation during the Annual Spinster Shaming Festival otherwise known as Chinese New Year.
Also, a billionaire's attempt to solve every problem was rebuffed because that is not what life is supposed to be all about. I feel sorry for the billionaire because he is really a nice guy and it's not his fault wanting to help others with his money, but this is a fictional piece of work so money had to lose in the end.
c) Hypergamy and associative mating remain a central feature in this genre.
When analyzing text in Singapore Social Cinematic Universe, I like to focus on what does not appear in a novel.
Conspicuously absent in modern-day romance novels are engineers. Engineers and tech introverts males are never deemed sexy enough to appear on Tinder dates even though they probably invented and built Tinder. Instead, a young love scammer gets more loving attention in the story. That being said, it's kinda hard imagining an M&A Lady lawyer dating an anime-laving BBFA - this is a market niche I hope to exploit one day when I finally get down to writing my very own BDSM novel.
Rom-com has evolved from men marrying downward to egalitarian assortative mating choices. The protagonist eventually goes for someone in a similar situation as she does. To drive a more progressive ending, her buddy even gave up chasing wallets and went for some good-looking beta male instead.
Nevertheless, I am heartened that the key male character in the story play Settlers of Catan and draws superhero comics. This story is actually quite progressive about what's dateable in the Singapore markets. So there is hope for gaming geeks after all!
With Crazy Rich Asians, Sarong Party Girls and Last Tang Standing, we might be a seeing a trend of ROM COMS set in Singapore. I see rich fertile ground for more novels that explore female hypergamy and associative mating in a competitive place like Singapore.
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